Two Decades of Service: West Fargo Woman Teaches Kids to Help Others

Barb Sinner has volunteered with the Salvation Army for the last 24 years

FARGO, N.D. — There’s just something about ringing bells and seeing the smiles on her kids faces that fires up Barb Sinner to help others each holiday season.

“It’s something that we look forward to. It’s something that the kids really look forward to. They were excited all day, and it’s pretty hard to have that wear off on you,” Sinner said.

Twenty four years ago, Sinner first took a group of her day care students to ring the bells and collect money for the Salvation Army.

“It’s something that I can do with the kids. There’s not a lot of opportunities where you can do it with that young of kids. It’s something they can do and feel like they’ve given to someone else,” Sinner said.

Even the higher ups at the Salvation Army have taken notice.

“Barb is such an amazing lady because she wants to instill that in her kids. I love that she wants to be able to talk to the kids about how important it is to think about other people,” said Major Jerry O’Neil of the Salvation Army.

Filled with the memories of Christmas songs and holiday spirit, several of the kids in Barb’s classes continue to ring the bell long into their adulthood.

“What’s really rewarding is to see a lot of these kids go on and in high school and college, I find out they’re ringing with their friends, and they’re not afraid to do it because they’ve done it, they know it’s fun. I like to see it. It just keeps giving,” Sinner said.

As classes of kids come and go, one thing that remains constant each holiday season is Barb’s drive to keep kids passionate about community service each year.

If you want to start your own legacy as a bell–ringer, the Salvation Army is looking for more volunteers for their Kettle Campaign. For more information, call (701) 356-2691.